Tailored Heritage • Full Site Coming Soon

“The Fillmore Champs”

In the bustling streets of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District live the memories of Jazz luminaries such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Charlie “the Bird” Parker. The Fillmore, once home to a rich cultural and ethnic diversity that claimed the signature The Harlem of The West, has seen much of its original culture dissipate due to redevelopment in the area.

Gabe Garcia, owner of The Brooklyn Circus SF, recognized the historical significance of this district, and opened the doors to his menswear shop during the Fillmore Jazz Festival in July of 2008. The BKc shop has become the focal point of this process of broader redefinition, sharing a vision for a more refined urban style through quality American-made products. The shop has become a cultural stronghold for a neighborhood still in-flux, opening its doors to artists, musicians, families, global tourists, and the style savvy.

Garcia, a Bay Area native, jumped at the chance to return home after spending many years living in New York. “When we came back to the Fillmore, the neighborhood was very transient, it had a feel that everyone was just passing by,” says Garcia, “But it immediately gave me a very similar vibe to our location in Brooklyn when we first moved there. It has a piece of neighborhood.” Garcia continues, “For me, finding a location that served the community and required our customers to dig and want to go on a little bit of a journey was worth it, because once you get here, the Fillmore is like finding a gem in a place that people have long said is a rough space. I always felt those rough textures are what makes life unique.”

Today, Garcia continues to pay homage to this history, celebrating the resilience and triumph of a neighborhood still facing the challenges of gentrification and access with his in-house line, “Fillmore Champions.”

Owing much of our experiences and growth to these very streets, we at Tailored Heritage decided to put together a visual appreciation of the collection as a sign of respect to those who continue to uphold the neighborhood's creative and diverse legacy. We challenge the idea that the Fillmore is just a place of the past.

- TH

The "Fillmore Champs" collection is now exclusively available at The Brooklyn Circus SF